Single-use tubing connectors are an important component in a
multitude of medical devices and often the primary connection interface between
the patient and the healthcare equipment providing the treatment. But as the
popularity of single-use tubing sets continues to rise, so does the number of
issues that design engineers must overcome in making the connections both easy
for end users and safe for their patients.

Endovascular surgery, a form of minimally invasive surgery,
is designed to access regions of the body through the major blood vessels. The
basic technique involves the introduction of a catheter percutaneously (or
through the skin) into a large blood vessel either through the femoral artery
or vein found near the groin. The catheter is injected with a radio-opaque dye
that can be seen on an X-ray or fluoroscopy imaging device. As the dye travels
through the circulation, the real-time images seen by the radiologists assist
in the diagnosis of diseases. Developments of intravascular balloons, stents
and coils have allowed new therapies to evolve as alternatives to the
traditional open surgeries.

Medical device manufacturers are constantly looking for ways
to eliminate waste, cut costs, save time, and generally, get products to market
faster. When it comes to molding, one machine is helping to accomplish all of
that. This article looks at a two-shot molding machine that can deliver
consistency and repeatability while offering the additional benefits mentioned
below.

Partnering with a molding services provider and establishing
a strong relationship is critical to success for medical device manufacturers.
However, a greater degree of efficiency can be established from partnering with
the molder’s resin supplier as well. This article looks at the additional
benefits realized from going a step further in reaching out to all parties
involved in the molding supply chain.

The Challenge: A previously identified material selected to
be overmolded onto polycarbonate would not properly bond without pre-treatment. The Solution: Utilizing a liquid injection molding system
product, a replacement material that did not require pre-treatment and offered
the ability to perform a higher production run than originally scheduled
resolved the bonding challenge.

The Challenge: Identify an affordable and reliable way to
develop prototype parts that can withstand the scrutiny of real world testing. The Solution: Utilizing an array of services including
Protomold and Firstcut, the company was able to secure a low volume run of
components that were provided in near production ready materials suitable for
testing.

Molding for medical devices involves critical processes that
must offer repeatability, assurance of accuracy, and a high degree of quality.
The following article will describe the basic fundamentals of the injection
molding process that one needs to understand before developing an effective
protocol for validating the injection molding process.

The Challenge: Identify a material for use in an OTC
sinus therapy device that helps to enable a successful product launch. The Solution: Use a polycarbonate plastic that is low viscosity
and offers excellent flame retardance, toughness, stiffness, and heat
deflection.

Medical devices are molded from acrylic polymers to meet the
requirements of a broad range of applications. Many of these devices are
complex and challenge the skills of the injection molder with
complicated mold designs that are difficult to fill. These challenges
can be overcome with the selection of the proper grade of acrylic
polymer and appropriate injection molding parameters.

Microfluidic Sanger sequencing is a
lab-on-a-chip application for DNA sequencing. Samples are typically in milliliter
volumes—the ‘macro world’—and must be interfaced to a microfluidic system that
handles only microliters. The process is relatively expensive when performed
manually due to the expense of the Big Dye and the reagents required for the
clean-up method. However, by integrating microfluidic technology with a highly
reliable robotic system, reagent volumes can be drastically reduced, generating
substantial cost savings.

As the marketplace and economy continue to evolve, many
engineering companies have turned to outsourcing for cost efficiency. Larry
Goch, President of Redpoint Engineering, a mechanical engineering and design
firm focusing on product design for its clients on an outsource basis,
discusses the benefits of outsourcing.